HIQA’s report into failures of patient care and corporate governance at Tallaght Hospital is now with the Comptroller and Auditor General and the fallout may rumble on for some time. June Shannon reports.

A group of women campaigning for the right to access abortion in Ireland following a diagnosis of fatal foetal abnormalities is to meet with the Minister for Health Dr James Reilly next month, the Medical Independent has learned.

A study of antipyretic use in children and the development of parent information handouts on antipyretic dosage, was awarded first place in the Quality in Practice (QIP) Awards at the ICGP AGM in Galway last weekend.

The numbers of GPs attending small group CME learning have increased significantly in the last two years as a result of mandatory professional competence and this is putting untold pressure on the CME network, delegates at the ICGP AGM in Galway heard.

The Republic of Ireland Faculty of the RCGP is to write to the President of Ireland Michael D Higgins to invite him to officially open the Ireland Room at the new RCGP headquarters in Euston Exchange in London.

The Department of Health is to meet with representatives from the Department of Jobs, Innovation and Trade, and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform together with the Competition Authority and the IMO, in an effort to discuss ways of overcoming the impasse surrounding competition law so that talks can finally commence on a new GP contract.

For the first time, discussions are to begin on the possible introduction of a part-time GMS contract for Irish GPs, the Medical Independent (MI) can reveal. Representatives from the IMO, the Department of Health (DoH) and the HSE are to meet shortly to discuss the issue.

The Department for Health is to introduce new legislation banning the use of sunbeds by people under the age of 18. Almost two years ago the former Minister for Health Ms Mary Harney announced her intention to introduce new legislation to restrict the use of sunbeds. However, the 2010 Sunbeds Regulation Bill fell victim to the dissolution of the Dáil on 1 February 2011.

The Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) has advised the Minister for Health that prion filtration should be introduced for babies from 0 to 4 months who require blood transfusion in order to reduce the risk of variant CJD transmission.

Three-quarters of Irish GPs support the provision of abortion in Ireland in very restricted circumstances and nearly 40 per cent feel that a woman’s health is adversely affected by having to travel abroad for a termination, new research reveals.

As doctors prepare for the 2012 IMO AGM, June Shannon garners opinions on long-awaited contract negotiations, what the potential deal breakers are and the pros and cons of contracts in other countries.

The Draft Heads of a Bill proposing the introduction of new legislation, which will see the Board of the HSE replaced with a new governance structure, will be introduced to Government in the coming weeks the Medical Independent has learned.

The Department of Health has been in contact with the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) about purchasing a number of its buildings to use as primary care centres, the Medical Independent (MI) has learned.

A surgeon who resigned from his post in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda last December is being flown back to the Louth facility for four days every month to provide orthopaedic paediatric services, the Medical Independent (MI) has learned.

With universal primary care by 2016 a key component of the Programme for Government, June Shannon speaks to Minister of State with Responsibility for Primary Care, Roisín Shorthall about current priorities

THE number of acute hospital beds lost to the health service due to delayed discharges were more than 40 per cent higher last November than in the same month in 2010, the most recent HSE figures reveal.

Ireland’s first Green Prescription Programme under which GPs will refer patients to take part in a structured, weekly exercise regime, is due to be rolled-out to five new primary care areas in east Donegal.

A shortage of long-term and community care is still causing a bottleneck as individuals cannot be discharged from hospitals. Is there any solution to the so-called ‘bed-blocker’ problem? June Shannon reports

While the current Government has been criticized for putting out a tender for a coastal survey of seals, last week a member of the Seanad expressed a wish to carry out a survey on the golfing habits of GPs.

The Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) is being forced to cancel its outreach therapeutic apheresis service over the coming months because of a difficulty in retaining staff, the Medical Independent (MI) has learned.

The Mental Health Commission (MHC) has called for the closure of St Joseph’s Psychiatric Hospital in Limerick as it “does not provide a therapeutic environment” and is “wholly unsuited to 21st Century mental healthcare”.

A year on from the HSE’s 2011 National Service Plan, June Shannon looks at the progress that has been made and the battles won and lost on behalf of the health service during the coalition’s first 360 days in office

A week after Budget 2012 which saw the government cut the winter fuel allowance, a new survey has found that more than half of older people went without food or clothing to pay for their heating, while 8.1 per cent used their oven as an additional source of heat.

Survivors of thalidomide in Britain and Northern Ireland have received apologies from the State and compensation deals have been renegotiated, but Irish survivors are struggling to achieve the same terms.

The delay in introducing reference pricing has meant that millions of euro in potential savings may have already been lost to the health service at a time when the service is struggling to afford newer medicines, the Medical Independent has learned.

Minister Kathleen Lynch TD is an extremely busy woman. Where most ministers of
State have one portfolio she has four – disability, older people, equality and mental health. She also reports to two separate Government departments – Health, and Justice, Equality and Defence.

The HSE has applied to the Department of Health for supplementary funding of €58 million and has also requested a list of cost saving measures to be drawn up for consideration at its next board meeting, the Medical Independent has learned

Bone health strategies have largely ignored adults with intellectual disability (ID) despite the fact that up to 70 per cent of this population is at risk of developing osteoporosis at a young age, according to new research.

Uncertainty surrounding proposed changes to general practice coupled with successive cuts to GP income may force young GPs to pursue more secure posts abroad, the National Director of Specialist GP Training has warned.

Living conditions at St Loman’s psychiatric hospital in Mullingar remain very poor with open drains in some toilets, a lack of privacy and “stuffy, cell-like bedrooms”, according to the latest report from the Mental Health Commission (MHC).

Being taken seriously, being treated with kindness and getting sweets are just some of the things that children want from their doctors, according to a report from the Ombudsman for Children. Other recommendations include telling the truth, being reassuring, and being interested in pop culture.

Dr Gerard Mansfield is Director of Specialist Training in General Practice at a time when the introduction of mandatory CPD and an uncertain future direction for general practice throws up many challenges

Researchers at the University of Limerick (UL) Medical School have successfully applied a new method of monitoring chemicals in the body, which has the potential to revolutionise the diagnosis and treatment of disease, and may make invasive procedures like biopsies a thing of the past.

The long-awaited redevelopment of the National Rehabilitation Hospital (NRH) in Dun Laoghaire has been suspended pending the completion of a national review of rehabilitation services, the Medical Independent can report.

It is said that a society can be judged by how it treats its most vulnerable members. The Medical Independent reports that when it comes to providing appropriate rehabilitation services, Ireland is neglecting its duty of care.

As of Friday June 24th the Medical Council had received just 63 applications for registration from doctors who were offered posts as part of the HSE’s recent recruitment drive in India and Pakistan, the Medical Independent has learned.

Eminent retired cardiologist Prof Eoin O’ Brien has handed back his Fellowship of the RCPI in protest at what he sees as the continuing silence of both the RCSI and the RCPI towards reports of the detention, of doctors in Bahrain, some of whom trained in Ireland.

A clause in the 1992 Electoral Act, banning “a person of unsound mind” (PUM) from being elected to the Dáil is outdated, discriminatory and should be removed, a leading mental health advocate has said.

Five children under the age of 17 were admitted to adult psychiatric units between December 1st 2010 and January 20th 2011, despite an addendum introduced to the Mental Health Act 2001 on December 1st last year banning such practices except in exceptional circumstances, the Medical Independent has learned.

A range of factors are increasingly putting the provision of rural general practice under pressure. June Shannon talks to some of those who fear that the end of a long-standing and vital service is in sight

Former ICGP Chief Executive Mr Fionán Ó’Cuinneagáin has been appointed as the first lay member of the board of the ROI Faculty of the RCGP, and has also been appointed to the Faculty’s Fellowship Committee, the Medical Independent has learned.